Lily's Life at Hogwarts
by cquill13
Summary: Original title, isn't it? Anyway, the fourth chapter is up! It's another evil cliffhanger!!! *evil grin* Well, this story is about Lily when her parents die, and she goes off to live with the Figgs. Please review!
1. Lily's New Life

Disclaimer: To my disappointment, everything belongs to J. K. Rowling, except Robert, David, William, Mrs. Figg and Mr. Figg. Oh well, at least I do own something.

A/N: This is a new story that came into my mind today. I don't know if anyone has done it before, but I liked it and decided to write it. The first chapter is in Mr. Figg's, Arabella Figg's father, POV. The rest of the story will probably be in the author's POV. Please do review, even if to tell me that you don't like it, I'd like to see whether I should continue it or not. That's all. Hope you like it!

Chapter 1: Lily's New Life

I had never seen a face so sad. As I saw her walking over to me, I was shocked. She looked so young, she couldn't have been more than eleven, yet… it seemed like she had the worries of a fifty year old. Her face was expressionless, yet her eyes showed all she felt. They were full of sadness, and pain. So much pain.

She was wearing black; from her shoes to her small jewel on her necklace. Even the band she had tied loosely around her hair was black. Her face was yellow, as if she had been sick for a month. The only lively colours she had were the red of her hair, and the green of her eyes. And that wasn't a normal green. As she looked at me, I could see tints of brown and gold in them. Her pupil was small, which made her eyes more beautiful than they already were.

She stopped in front of me, put her suitcase on the ground, and asked me quietly,

"Mr. Figg?" 

"Yes," I answered. "You are Lily Evans?" The girl in front of me nodded.

"Please sit down," I said. She did so, at the seat in front of me. Her eyes looked up at my face, as if asking me something. I wished I didn't have to be the one to explain everything to her; it was going to be so difficult. I looked at her for a moment, and decided that the sooner I started, the sooner I would finish.

"So," I began. "First of all, you do know why you are here, don't you?" Lily nodded slowly.

"I was told that you had some information of where I'm going to stay, now that my parents are dead," she answered. I looked with surprise at her. I hadn't expected her to talk of the death of her parents so… so calmly. I hadn't even been two weeks since her parents were murdered; yet she had already accepted it. She had already accepted that she was alone, with no mother to love her, with no father to help her in her problems. I marveled that such a young girl could act so mature.

"That's right," I answered. "As you know, your sister is to stay with her godmother, who was a friend of your mother, right?" I asked. She nodded and I continued. "However, as all your relatives are dead, along with you godmother, who was you aunt," I stopped to look at her. She nodded once more. "A family had to be found for you." I stopped once more to see her expression at this, and also to prepare myself for what was to come. Her face remained blank; I supposed that she had already known that. However, she asked me,

"And who is this family?" I braced myself, took a deep breath, and said,

"Before that, Lily, I must ask you something. Did you ever do something strange, something that maybe normal people couldn't do?" I saw her face frown in concentration, and then she nodded slowly. 

"Yes," she said softly. "Sometimes, sometimes I make things happen, like… like magic."

"Exactly," I said. She narrowed her eyes, as if asking me to explain myself. "Because, Lily, magic does exist."

"What?" she whispered. "Is this a joke?"

"No, Lily," I answered. "This is not joke. Magic exists, and so do wizards and witches. I am a wizard, as you are a witch."

"And do you have anything to confirm that?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. I checked to see whether any people were noticing us in the Café where we were, but everyone seemed busy chatting or laughing. I drew out my wand, and I saw Lily looking at it with surprise. I couldn't blame her. To her it must look like a piece of stick.

"This is a wand," I said. "And what I'm going to do is a simple spell to fetch that teaspoon from the empty table over there. Look!" I pointed my wand at the teaspoon, and under my breath, I whispered, "Accio teaspoon!" The teaspoon flew over to me, and Lily looked at me in surprise.

"Wow!" she whispered. Then her eyes narrowed once more, and by now I understood that whenever she did that, something must be puzzling her. I waited for her to ask her question.

"But," she said. "You said that I'm a witch. Does that mean that I can do that, too?" I smiled. This made it so much easier for me.

"No Lily," I said. "At least not yet. You see, all wizards and witches learn spells and such things at a special school. One of the best schools of magic that there are is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I used to go there when I was young, and I believe those were the best seven years that I ever had." Lily smiled at me.

"Am I going to Hogwarts too?" she asked. I pulled out the letter that Albus Dumbledore had given me for Lily.

"Here," I said, handing the letter over to her. "Read that." She opened the envelope and read the letter in silence. Her eyes widened and for the first time since I saw her, she looked just like a happy eleven-year old girl. Some colour had found its way to her face, and this time, he lips were curved into a smile. She finished reading the letter, and looked up at me. I could see that she had to habit of looking at someone in his eyes, as if making eye contact.

"But," she said. "I don't go to Hogwarts till 1st September, where am I going to stay till then?" Wow, I could see that Ms. Evans here wasn't going to be put off so easily. I hoped that she would accept this as she had accepted that she was a witch. I looked at her, and decided to say it and get rid of it.

"Lily," I said slowly. "How would you like to stay with me and my family? We are all witches and wizards, and one of my kids is the same age as you. We can help you understand magic, and prepare you for Hogwarts. The headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, thought it would be best if you stay with a wizarding family. However, you don't have to if you don't want," I finished. Lily stared at me, and her face was expressionless once more. I crossed my fingers, Lily was the type of girl I'd love to have in my family. She was so mysterious, and maybe she could calm my children down a bit. Especially Arabella, she was the one who was the same age as Lily. She and Lily would make a pair! Lily looked so quiet and reserved, while Arabella was loud, noisy and outgoing. Maybe Arabella could help Lily get over the death of her parents. Yes, it would be very interesting to have Lily in my family.

I looked at her patiently; she seemed to be thinking about this deeply. I couldn't blame her; it is always difficult to change your life. Her life certainly would have to change with us, we are a bigger family. And I felt that she wasn't going to accept me and my wife as her new parents so easily, either. And there was also the fact that we were magical. However, I knew that Lily might feel that being in a family is better than living in some orphanage. And so she did.

"I'd love to live with you and your family," she said quietly. I smiled and let out the deep breath that I had been holding. "That's great!" I exclaimed. "Does your suitcase contain all your belongings?"

"Yes," Lily answered.

"Good, then we can go home now," I said. Home. I wondered whether she will feel at home in our house. I hoped she would. Lily needed something to take her mind off her parents, and I felt that settling in with us could be just the thing.

As I put her suitcase at the back of my car, I wondered whether she knew who had murdered her parents. I had been told that it was a dark wizard, who planned to kill all the muggles or something. I wondered whether this could be true. Could anyone believe that he could do such a thing? Anyway, whoever this dark wizard was, I hoped that he'd be caught soon. We really couldn't afford to have more kids like Lily, alone and parentless. Poor girl, I really did pity her. I hoped that she'll soon get over all that happened to her.

I smiled as I started the engine. Arabella will certainly be glad to have Lily with us. She was rather fed up of being the only girl in the house. Her older sister, and my oldest child worked as a teacher at Beauxbatons in France. She had wanted to work at Hogwarts, but there hadn't been a vacant place. Even though Talitha, my oldest daughter, didn't think so, I believe that this way it's better for my other children; they might not have been so comfortable with their sister teaching them. However, we do miss Talitha, she can't come to England so often as she is in France.

"How many children do you have?" Lily asked me. I guessed that she was trying to make conversation. 

"Five," I answered. She gasped.

"Five?" she exclaimed.

"Yes," I confirmed. "My oldest daughter, Talitha, works as a teacher at Beauxbatons, which is another wizarding school in France. Then there's Robert, he's in his seventh year at Hogwarts, and he's head boy this year. Then there's David, who's in his fifth year, William, who's in his second year, and Arabella, who's starting her first year at Hogwarts with you." Lily stayed silent, and I grinned. She must have been shocked; now she was going to have to live with four other kids. I guessed that my house shall never be peaceful.

I parked the car in front of my house, and we got down. I fetched Lily's suitcase and took out my key from my pocket. I wondered why I bothered with keys. Anyone could say 'Alohomora' any time and enter. Oh well, at least I knew a locking for nights, which 'Alohomora' wouldn't open. That way we were safe. My wife would have killed me if I didn't know that locking charm. Thank goodness I used to pay attention in Charms.

I opened the door and smiled at Lily. She stepped inside and smiled a small smile.

"Hello! I'm home! And Lily's here!" I called. Suddenly I heard five pairs of feet pounding down the stairs, and my family came running towards us. My youngest daughter arrived first, and she jumped on me and hugged me. I grinned and hugged her back. 

"Hi Dad!" she shouted. "Is this Lily?"

"Yes," said Lily quietly. Arabella smiled and grabbed her hand.

"Hi Lily! Welcome to the best house in the wizarding world! Dad, can I show her our room?" I nodded, and Arabella dragged her off, talking loudly all the way to their room. I smiled, shaking my head.

"That wasn't fair!" exclaimed William. "Now Ara is going to keep Lily for herself!" David grinned.

"Already set your eyes on her, William? I suppose she's not that bad looking, but isn't it a bit early? You've just met her, you know," he said. Trust David to start teasing William.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that!" argued William. "I just wanted to let her know that we exist!"

"Now, now, already quarrelling over a girl?" smiled Robert.

"We are not!" shouted David and William.

"I was just telling William that it's too early to start showing his love for Lily!" said David.

"I do not love or like Lily!" shouted William. "I don't even know her!"

"Calm down," said my wife, holding back a grin. Then she turned to me.

"Did everything go alright?" she asked.

"Yes," I nodded. "I gave her the letter and everything."

"Good," she said. "Well, I suppose I'd better go and help Lily unpack, though I suppose Ara is doing a good job herself!" She smiled and went upstairs after Lily and Arabella. I looked t my sons.

"Well, I suppose you could inform Lily that you exist tomorrow," I grinned. "I believe she's rather tired today."

"Okay," said Robert grinning at William. "Come on, William, tomorrow isn't that far away, you know!" he teased.

"Oh, shut up!" said William, as he went upstairs to his room. Robert exchanged a look with David, and they grinned. I groaned. Poor William, he was going to have a hard time in the days to come. 

A/N: That's all. Please, please, please, do review! As I said before, I'm not sure whether I should continue it or not. That's for you to decide. Thanks! 


	2. The Figg Family

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Figg Family (all except Arabella), William's secret crush on Lily, the Department of Magic and Muggle Corporation and the Figg's house and courtyard. Oh, something else which I'm not going to tell you about now… (grins widely).

A/N: Ha, ha! I loved writing this chapter (though it took a long time) and I'm soooo happy! I received 7 reviews! Wow, that's a record (for me) but then I've only got two fics. Anyway, the thanks section is after this chapter. Now, the deal. (Smiles) For next chapter (stops to think deeply) I want… 13 reviews! If I don't get 13 reviews you'll have to wait quite a bit… come on… just 6 more! That's all. Enjoy this chapter, and review please!

Chapter 2: The Figg Family

"Is Lily awake?" whispered William. Arabella jumped. It was 8 o'clock in the morning, and she had found William waiting outside their door.

"What do you want?" she yawned. 

"Is Lily awake?" repeated William. "We haven't introduced ourselves yet." Arabella raised her eyebrows.

"You were waiting outside our room just to introduce yourself to Lily? Couldn't you do that downstairs?" she asked. William shook his head violently.

"Of course not! Then Robert and David would take her all to themselves to show her Quidditch," he answered. Arabella rolled her eyes.

"Lily isn't awake yet. But I bet you'll give her a shock if she meets you outside the room when she wakes up!" she grinned.

"Will I really?" asked William anxiously. Arabella nodded, trying hard not to laugh.

"Then, then maybe it's best if I wait for her downstairs," said William, sounding depressed. Arabella nodded, and keeping a straight face, said,

"Yes, I think that's best. Now excuse me, I'd like to go and take a shower." And with that she pushed past William and ran to the shower, only to break into laughter when she arrived there.

An hour later, Lily opened her eyes, and immediately closed them again at the amount of light she found. Someone must have already opened the curtains. She opened her eyes slowly, and sat up.

She was in a strange room. At first she couldn't remember where she was, then everything came back to her at once. Her meeting with Mr. Figg, coming to live with the huge Figg family, talking to Arabella who had told her that today she was going to show her around the house, unpacking with Mrs. Figg, and finally going to sleep before the sun had even set. She had protested, of course, she disliked going to bed early. But Mrs. Figg had insisted that she must be 'extremely tired' so she had to go to bed at seven o'clock. She had stayed awake for a long time, thinking about her parents, when finally she had cried herself to sleep.

Now she was going to have to change her life. She was a witch, and she was going to start living in a family of witches and wizards. She wondered about this school she had just been accepted to. Hogwarts, wasn't it? What would they learn there? She supposed she could ask Arabella. And speaking of Arabella, where was she? Lily threw off the covers and got out of bed. She was in huge bedroom which had two beds, hers and Arabella's. She walked over to the wardrobe where Mrs. Figg had put all her clothes the day before. She put on a jeans and a t-shirt, and opened the door.

Lily looked around feeling lost. She couldn't see anyone, and she didn't have any idea where she could go to have breakfast. Suddenly, she saw a boy who looked slightly older than her walk quickly over to her.

"Hi," she began. "I suppose you couldn't tell…"

"Hi," he began quickly. "I'm William Figg, and I'm a year older than you. Would you like me to show you the way to the kitchen?"

"Yes, please," said Lily awkwardly. That was just what she was going to ask him.

"Come after me," he said breathlessly. He began walking in the direction from where he had come, and Lily followed him.

"So," he said. "You're Lily Evans, aren't you?"

"Yes," said Lily, wondering how much more this boy knew about her.

"And you're a first year at Hogwarts, aren't you?" asked William.

"I'm starting Hogwarts the coming September," answered Lily politely.

"I'm starting the second year there," said William. This was the first whole sentence William had said without asking her a question, and Lily didn't have any idea what she was supposed to say.

"Oh," she said finally. "I see." The started walking down the stairs, and Lily noticed a large portrait of a tall boy sitting reading on a chair. Suddenly she blinked. If she had seen rightly, the boy had just lowered his book and smiled at her!

"William!" she said urgently. "Did you see that portrait move?" 

"Of course I did," said William, looking in the seventh heaven of delight that Lily had actually begun the conversation this time. "All portraits in the wizarding world move, didn't you know that? Why, at Hogwarts, the entrance to the Gryffindor common room is a portrait of a fat lady that asks you to tell her a password so that she'll let you enter!" This simple sentence had managed to befuddle Lily's mind. Gryffindor? A talking portrait of a fat lady? Passwords? How on earth was she going to get used to all of this?

"Lily! Good morning!" They had arrived in the kitchen, and Mrs. Figg had rushed over to hug her good morning.

"Good morning!" said Lily shyly. She hadn't been hugged like this for a fortnight. She remembered that her mother used to wake her up at exactly 8 o'clock… (_flashback_) 

* * * * *

"Lily, dear, wake up!" Lily opened her eyes slightly, and saw her mother bending over her.

"What time is it?" asked Lily sleepily, as she sat up.

"Eight o'clock," answered her mother as she drew the curtains.

"Eight o'clock! Mum, it's the first day of the holidays, can't I sleep for another hour?" exclaimed Lily indignantly. 

"Afraid not," smiled Lily's mother. "I need you to help me with the housework, dear."

"But, but can't Petunia help you with that?"

"Lily, Petunia and I are in a little disagreement right now," her mother had answered while she tidied up Lily's desk. Lily remembered the row her parents had with her older sister the day before, and it certainly wasn't little. Petunia had stayed out till past midnight, and as she was still thirteen, Lily's parents didn't like her to stay out till after half-past ten. Petunia, being the idiot she was, had told them that she wished they were dead, then maybe she could stay out as late as she wanted. Lily had overheard all this from her room: her mother crying, her father shouting and Petunia yelling.

"Okay," said Lily. "I'm getting up." Her mother started walking towards the door, when suddenly she stopped and looked back at Lily, as if waiting for something. Lily smiled, got out of bed and hugged her mother tightly.

"Good morning mum," she whispered. Her mother smiled and hugged her back. 

"Good morning, dear." 

That evening her parents had died. (_End of flashback_)

* * * * *

"Hi Lily!" Two boys she hadn't noticed before had stood up, and one of them was grinning at William, who blushed and sat down.

"I'm Robert, and this is David. I'm a seventh year at Hogwarts, and Dave is a fifth year. I suppose William has already introduced himself?" The boy who had been grinning, David, laughed loudly at this. William frowned at him.

"I guess he did," said David. He had stopped laughing, because Mrs. Figg had been shooting him some angry looks, which could only mean, 'leave William alone'. "Anyway, Robert hasn't told you something. He's head-boy this year, so you'd better be careful of him!"

"Oh shut up!" Robert told David. "Anyway, sit down!" he said, turning to Lily. Lily noticed an empty seat near Arabella, who had been observing all this with an amused expression on her face. Unfortunately, on the other side of this seat sat William, who, when she sat down, blushed even harder if that was possible.

"So," began Mrs. Figg, as she put a plate in front of Lily. "What are you all going to do today?"

"I'm going to show Lily around the house," said Arabella, putting her knife and fork down.

"But we were going to show her Quidditch!" said David, frowning at Arabella.

"You can show Lily Quidditch this afternoon," said Mrs Figg quickly, to prevent an argument. "What about you, William?"

"I've got an essay that Professor Binns gave us," said William. "And I think I'll play Quidditch with Robert and David this afternoon."

"And Lily," said Robert grinning. "Lily's going to be playing Quidditch with us, remember?" William glared at him, and got up. 

"I'm going upstairs to my room," he announced. As he left, Robert and David burst into laughter, Arabella grinned and Lily blushed, suddenly finding the table very interesting to look at. 

"Now, now," said Mrs. Figg smiling. "Leave William alone."

"Yeah, we will," said Robert.

"Someday," added David, as he got up. Mrs. Figg's eyes flashed dangerously, and David grinned cheekily at her.

"Bye, Mum!" he said, going out of the kitchen. Robert left after him.

"Honestly, those two…" muttered Mrs. Figg.

"Lily, are you ready?" asked Arabella.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" said Lily, getting up. "Thanks," she added to Mrs. Figg, who smiled and wondered why her children couldn't be as polite as Lily. Arabella and Lily went out of the room, heading towards the sitting room where Arabella was going to start her tour.

* * * * *

"And this is the attic," said Arabella, opening the door. Lily stepped in, looking around.

"Your house is really huge, Bella," said Lily. Arabella had told her to call her that, as the rest of her family called her Ara, and she was sick and tired of that.

"You still haven't seen the secret passages," said Bella grinning.

"You've… you've got _secret passages_?" exclaimed Lily.

"Of course," replied Bella. "But I'll show them to you some other day, it takes a long time to see them all; and it will soon be time for lunch." At this, a loud gong was heard, and Bella grinned at Lily's startled expression.

"Mum rings that whenever it's time for lunch or dinner, so that she won't have to keep on calling us. It's got a spell on it, so that we'll hear it wherever we are," she explained. 

"I see," said Lily. "Well, then we'd better go."

"Right," said Bella, and they ran down two flights of steps (it was supposed to be five, but they took a shortcut) to the kitchen.

"The two older boys and Mr. Figg were already seated, and William, who was helping Mrs. Figg, accidentally dropped a plate when Lily entered. Fortunately, the plate had a non-breaking charm on it, so it didn't break. When everyone had begun lunch, Mr. Figg asked Lily,

"So, have you settled in all right?"

"Yes, Arabella showed me around the house this morning, it's brilliant!" answered Lily smiling. Mr. Figg smiled back at her.

"I'm glad. What are you going to do this afternoon?"

"We're all going to play Quidditch," said Robert. "Can Lily borrow your broom? She doesn't have one yet."

"Of course," replied Mr. Figg. They ate in silence, then Mr. Figg began discussing a Defense Against Dark Arts essay with David, while Lily asked Bella,

"Where does your father work?"

"In the Ministry of Magic. He works in the Department of Magic and Muggle Corporation," replied Bella. Lily narrowed her eyes, and frowned slightly.

"Department of _what_?" she asked.

"Department of Magic and Muggle Corporation," repeated Bella. "It's a Department where they take care of Muggle happenings that mi with magical ones. For example…" here Bella stopped, and bit her lip.

"Go on," said Lily.

"Well, like… like your case. You see," here she lowered her voice. "Your parents were muggles, but they were killed by a wizard, so…"

"WHAT?" shouted Lily. Everyone turned to look at her.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"What's the matter, dear?" asked Mrs. Figg anxiously.

"Nothing. Umm… Bella was just explaining something to me, and… and I was shocked at a piece of information that she gave me, that's all," explained Lily.

"Oh, I see," said Mrs. Figg, and though still looking suspicious, continued to talk with Robert and William.

"Sorry, I didn't know that my parents were killed by a wizard," whispered Lily.

"That's okay," said Bella. "I didn't know you didn't know that. Anyway, as… as your parents who were muggles, which are non-magic people by the way, were killed by a wizard, then Dad's department had to go in the case. When they found that you were a witch, they wanted you to start living in a family that could explain… explain _everything_, you know, about Hogwarts and so on, a _wizarding_ family. So after Dad filled some forms and stuff, it was decided that you were to live with us." Lily looked at Bella in silence. 

"I suppose you don't know anything about magic, do you?" asked Bella. Lily shook her head. "Well, then I guess we'll have to explain everything to you. Hogwarts is a school where we learn witchcraft and wizardry. We have lessons like Potions, Transfiguration, Charms…"

"Excuse me," Lily interrupted her. "What do we learn in… in these lessons?" Bella smiled.

"You take it from their names, actually. In Potions we learn how to brew potions, in Transfiguration we learn how to transfigure things, and so on. You'll learn about those eventually. Anyway, we stay at Hogwarts for seven years, that means that Robert is in his last year. When we arrive at Hogwarts, we're supposed to be sorted in houses…"

"Sorted?" asked Lily. "How?"

"I don't know. I asked, but no one will tell me. William said that as no one had told him, now he didn't want to tell me. Anyway, there are four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. All my family was in Gryffindor - they say that's the best – except Dad and Talitha, who were in Ravenclaw. I hope we're in the same house," finished Bella. Lily hoped so, too.

"What about Quidditch?" That's what we're going to do this afternoon, isn't it?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, we'll explain it to you then. But for now I'll tell you a few things. Quidditch is a sport played on broomsticks with four balls. There are two teams: seven players in each team. We'll teach you the rules later on."

"But, what do you mean, on broomsticks?" asked Lily. "We… we don't _fly_?" 

"Of course we do!" replied Bella. Lily gasped. This wizarding world was full of surprises! They finished eating in silence, occasionally saying things like,

"Pass the salt," or "Want any more sauce?" When they finished, they all went outside into a huge courtyard filled with turf, with the exception of Mr. and Mrs. Figg who stayed inside watching 'The Wizarding World News'.

* * * * *

"Settled in nicely, hasn't she?" said Mr. Figg as he went to the window. She was in deep conversation with David, he was probably explaining Quidditch to her.

"Yes, she certainly has," replied Mrs. Figg, glancing at the kids. Now they were all showing her how to mount the broom that she was standing near. They all had Shooting Stars, which were the latest brooms that had come out. Lily mounted her broom and kicked off.

"Wow, she's quite good!" commented Mr. Figg. Lily had landed, grinning as Robert clapped her on her back and William shook her hand. Wait, _shook her hand_? Mr. Figg frowned lightly, and shook his head. Was William still on Lily? Shaking her hand… the absurdity… Suddenly he laughed. He should really give William some lessons on how to make girls notice him, if he was _that_ desperate. But Mr. Figg immediately shook himself mentally and turned away from the window. They were still too young…

Mr. Figg sat down near Mrs. Figg who was watching the news.

"And now we have some flash news that have just been owled to us…" Suddenly Mr. Figg gasped, and Mrs Figg screamed and promptly fainted. Mr. Figg ran to the door.

"Robert, David, Lily, all of you! Come in her straight away! Hurry!"

A/N: Cliff-hanger! Am I not evil! Don't you want to know what happened that made Mrs. Figg faint and Mr. Figg panic? You think I'm gonna tell you? WRONG! Next chapter! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that. Remember, I need 13 reviews for next chapter. Now the thank-you section.

Anime girl: Thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks! You were my first reviewer for this fic! You always review my other fic too… Thanks!

Omg: You got more! And I hope you like it! Thanks for your review.

Lunita: Here's the second chapter. I hope you read it, like it, and review it!

Britz: You read this story and liked it! I'm so glad! But when _are_ you going to update your fic? (Whines) You've got so much more reviews than you asked for! By the way, thanks for saying that about the boys teasing William, there was some more in this chapter, hope you liked it!

MmmMmmGood: I read one of your fics, and found that I had read it and reviewed it some months ago! Anyway, thanks for your review!

Naavi: N-A-A-V-I! You didn't review Chapter 7 of my other fic! I think I'll take your own advice and send you hundreds and hundreds of e-mails saying, REVIEW BOTH MY FICS! Please, please, do review it! I adore your reviews! You write such good ones! Hey, wait, review this first! By the way, thanks for your review!

Reine Dansante: Wow… I can't believe it! You actually read and reviewed both my stories! I'd just like to tell you, your stories are really, really, great! Wow, I still can't believe this! I even read your review war, and that was so funny! Anyway, I hope you read, enjoy and review this chapter. Please! And thanks for your review!

A/N: Well, are you still there? Haven't you started to review yet? Oh well, just listen to this first. If anyone wants me to inform him/her when I update, please say so in your review and give me your e-mail. That's all. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and are going to press that review button THIS INSTANT! Thanks!


	3. Down in Diagon Alley

****

A/N: Look at the bottom one for a proper A/N. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

****

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the Figg family, the room and the event. (You'll understand about these in the chapter).

****

Dedications: This chapter is dedicated to **Snowlily**, **Reine Dansante**, **Xavi** and **Bella**, who are all my companions in the 'review war'.

Chapter 3: Down in Diagon Alley

"Mum, Dad, what on earth is happening?" cried Bella as she ran into the house with her brothers and Lily. "Oh my gosh! What's happened to Mum?" Mr. Figg put out his wand, pointed it at Mrs. Figg, lifted her in the air and floated her on the sofa.

"She's just fainted," he said softly. "The news must have been too much."

"What news?" asked William.

"It's just been reported on the Wizarding World News," said Mr. Figg. "There were fourteen children out playing Quidditch, and thirteen of them are dead."

"What?" gasped Lily.

"That's not all. Traces of the Cruciatus curse being used on all of them was found, and the one boy who is not dead is at St. Mungo's." Lily didn't know what the Cruciatus curse of St. Mungo's were, but she decided not to interrupt. She could always ask Bella later on.

"Which curse was used to kill them?" asked Robert. 

"The Avada Kedavra," whispered Mr. Figg. The boys and Bella gasped. However, Mr. Figg continued. "And a strange mark was in the air above the bodies of the children." He threw a strange look at Lily.

"What mark?" asked David.

"Well, it…" began Mr. Figg. Suddenly he stopped. Mrs. Figg was showing some signs of waking up.

"Oh no… Oh, the poor, poor children!" she muttered. "Imagine if it had been one of ours!" 

Lily looked down. She knew that she didn't count as 'one of ours'. Of course, she couldn't expect Mrs. Figg to remember her. She wished her parents were alive, right then. She wished they were there, to help her, to comfort her. She needed them, to tell her how thankful they were she wasn't one of those children. When she saw how the Figg Family was united at such an event, she felt more left out than ever. Like a stranger. Of course, nobody needed her. She was alone, all alone. A tear was trickling down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away.

She had never understood how important parents are. She had never seen all the times they were there for her. She had never felt all the love they had given her. Never. Until now.

Why did they have to die? Why had it happened to her, of all people? She wished she had been one of those children; so that maybe then some people would take notice of her. Maybe, maybe then some people would realize she had existed. They would realize that she had a heart, a heart that had only felt love in the first eleven years of her life. Lily wondered how many people would miss her, if she did die. Probably none, except maybe the Figgs. But they didn't need her. She wasn't part of them. She was Lily Evans, a girl with no parents, a girl with an unloved heart, a girl all alone.

All alone, all alone… She was alone, in the whole world. She was only with the Figgs because she was a witch, and she didn't care about that right now. She couldn't magic her parents back, she didn't know a spell to bring back her parents. She wondered if the Figgs really did want her; maybe they had only taken her in out of pity. Maybe she was just a trouble to them, a trouble they longed to get rid of. She didn't have any friends, she had no one. Maybe the world would be better off without her.

Her parents would have never allowed her to think all this. They would have comforted her, they would have told her that they loved her, that they needed her. They would have told her how much she meant to them. Maybe they would have, but now they couldn't. They were dead, and they had left her all alone…

"Lily dear, what's the matter?" asked Mrs. Figg anxiously. Lily looked up, and felt tears streaming down her face. Mrs. Figg was sitting up, and all of the Figg family were staring at Lily. They all looked worried about her.

Maybe they did care a little, after all. Maybe they did realize she was there, that she could feel emotions too. But then, maybe it was just out of kindness.

"Nothing," muttered Lily. "I'm all right."

"You're not," said David.

"Tell us Lil, we might be able to help you," said Bella, looking expectantly at Lily.

"Would you like to talk to me alone?" asked Mrs. Figg gently, guessing what the girl's troubles were.

"Yeah, okay," said Lily. She went into the kitchen with Mrs. Figg and they sat down.

"Lily, is there anything, anything at all, that you would like to tell me?" asked Mrs. Figg. Lily thought of her parents, of how much he wished they were still alive. She thought about how she felt that she was all alone. She thought about how much she had worried whether the Figgs wanted her. She thought about how much she wished for someone to say that she was needed, that she was loved.

"No, I'm… I'm alright," said Lily, hoping she sounded confident enough.

"Lily, if that's so, it's alright. But I'd just like to tell you something before you go. You should know that I love as if you were my daughter, and that had you been one of those children, I would have felt as sad as if it had been Bella." Lily stared at her in surprise. How did she know? How on earth did she know?

Suddenly, Lily left all her worries and feelings behind, got up, and hugged Mrs. Figg tightly.

"Thank-you! Thank-you!" she whispered, feeling tears form in her eyes once more. "You're just like Mum, thanks!" Mrs. Figg smiled as she hugged Lily back. All these worries were bad for an eleven year old child, but at least it's always better if some of them are lifted.

* * * * *

A few weeks had passed since the day when those thirteen children had died. Lily had settled in nicely with the Figgs, and had now become good friends with Bella. William was starting to act more normal when she was around, and Robert and David didn't tease him so much. Mr. Figg and Mrs. Figg had become like parents to Lily, though never really the same. However, she had quickly become one of the Figgs.

One morning, as she was having breakfast, Lily received some surprising news.

"Did any of you have anything planned for tomorrow?" asked Mrs. Figg as she put a piece of toast in front of Lily.

"Nah, I haven't planned anything yet," said Robert as David and William shook their heads.

"I was going to show Lily one of the secret passages, but we can do that some other day," replied Bella. "Why?"

"I thought we could all go to Diagon Alley to get your supplies," said Mrs. Figg.

"Okay," said David. "How are we going, by Floo?"

"Yes," replied Mrs. Figg as she opened the window to let the morning owl in. Lily had got used to this owl delivering the Daily Prophet, which was a Wizarding newspaper. Mrs. Figg paid the owl and it flew off.

"What's floo?" asked Lily.

"It's a way of travelling," replied Bella. "We'll show you how tomorrow. Diagon Alley is the place where we get all the books and supplies we need for Hogwarts."

"I see," said Lily, helping herself to more toast. Bella had got used to answering and informing Lily on everything, and none of the others dared to take over her 'job'. Most of the time Bella answered Lily before she even asked her question, which was just as well, because Lily still felt a bit shy.

When breakfast was finished, Lily went upstairs to the room she shared with Bella. She took out her Hogwarts letter, and looked at the second sheet of paper which included her supplies list.

She wondered how a place could hold all of these things, but now she was getting used to the wizarding world, so she knew that there was probably a simple answer to that. However, she longed for the next day to come, so that she'll have at least some of her questions answered.

The next day dawned bright and sunny, and after breakfast, all of the Figg family except Mr. Figg, who had left for work, were in the sitting room.

"As I told you yesterday, Floo powder is a way of travelling," began Bella. "All you have to do is take a little of this powder, throw it into the fire, step into the fire and shout 'Diagon Alley'. Understand?"

"I think so," said Lily, still feeling a bit confused.

"Right then," said Mrs. Figg. "Robert, you first." Robert took a pinch of powder from the bag Mrs. Figg handed to him, and threw it into the fire. As this turned emerald green, Robert stepped in it and shouted, 

"Diagon Alley!" Lily gasped. Robert had apparently vanished! This repeated itself with William and David.

"Lily, you next," said Mrs. Figg. "Now keep your elbows tucked in, and don't go out before you stop. And it's also very important to say the words clearly. Now, are you ready?" Lily nodded, feeling nervous. She took a pinch of floo powder, threw it into the fire, and stepped in.

"Diagon Alley!" she shouted. She tucked her elbows in, and began spinning; at first slowly, then faster and faster. Blurred fireplaces passed in front of her, and suddenly she felt herself slowing down. At last she stopped spinning, and fell out.

"Are you all right?" grinned Robert as he helped her up.

"Yeah," answered Lily, still feeling dizzy. "Where are we?"

"This place is called the Leaky Cauldron. From here we can enter Diagon Alley. Now, Ara and Mum should be coming soon."

At these words, they saw Bella stumbling out of the fireplace and David grabbed her before she fell down. A few minutes later, Mrs. Figg appeared and they all went out from a back door.

They had entered a small yard, and now they stood facing a brick wall. Mrs. Figg drew out her wand, tapped on a brick, and a small hole began forming on the place where she had tapped. The hole grew bigger and bigger, until it was big enough for a person to pass through. Lily stepped through, and looked around with her mouth slightly open.

"This," grinned Bella. "Is Diagon Alley." Lily looked around, speechless. It was impossible to describe such a place. The whole alley was packed with wizards and witches, young and old. At each side she could see labels of shops with the strangest names: Flourish and Blotts, Madam Malkin's Wizarding Robes and one shop, which had 'The Shop of Invisibility' written on its door, was appearing and disappearing every few seconds. Most of the grown-ups were wearing robes, like Mrs. Figg, but nearly all the children were wearing muggle-clothes, like herself. Everyone looked as if they knew this alley by heart; no one looked confused like her.

"Where do we go first?" asked Lily.

"At Gringotts," grinned Bella. She had come here before when buying supplies for her brothers.

"What's that?" asked Lily, with a look of astonishment on her face. 

"The Wizarding Bank," replied Bella, as they pushed their way through a crownd of young witches. "The money your parents left you was sent there directly. You'll need some money for your supplies and for Hogwarts."

"I see," said Lily, running to keep up. "Are your money normal?" 

"Of course not," replied Bella. "At least, it's not normal for you. We have Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. You'll see them when we draw some from your vault."

"Okay," answered Lily, her mind reeling with all this new information. All this was worse that learning a new language.

"Here's Gringotts!" exclaimed Mrs. Figg, smiling at Lily. They had stopped in front of a huge white building. "Come in…"

* * * * *

When they were out again in the bright sunshine, their money bags were considerably heavier. They began walking together down the alley, heading towards a shop called 'Flourish and Blotts'. When they arrived in front of it, Mrs. Figg stopped, and drew out two lists from her bag.

"Right," she said. "Let's get organised. Robert, you and William can buy the books, parchments and quills on this list." She handed one of the lists to Robert . "Ara, you know where Ollivander's is, don't you?" Bella nodded. "Right, then you and Lily can go there to get your wands. David, you can come with me to the apothecary, and any other odd places we need to go. We'll meet here in an hour and a half. Is that settled? Good."

They all went to the places appointed to them, and both Lily and Bella emerged from Ollivander's pale and shaken, but happy with a wand in their pockets. Mr. Ollivander had scared Lily; and she was glad to be out again.

"We've still got half and hour," observed Bella, checking her watch. "What should we do?"

"Let's have a look at the shops here," suggested Lily. "I've only seen a little of Diagon Alley."

"Okay," replied Bella. "Let's go and check out that queer shop over there, I've never been there before." They headed over to a small shop. Its label was so dirty and broken down that they could not read anything except and S in the form of a snake. Bella opened the door and they entered.

At first they could see nothing. The room was in complete darkness. The door closed by itself when Bella let it go. Lily looked around with narrowed eyes, and shivered.

"What's this?" whispered Bella, her voice shaking a little.

"I don't know," answered Lily softly. "But I guess we'd best get out of here." They turned round to the door once more, but found only a dark wall. The door had vanished!

"Oh no…" groaned Bella.

"I don't like this," murmered Lily. "I don't like this at all." She looked around, as if searching for some clue.

"Look!" whispered Bella. Lily glanced over to where Bella was pointing. Something was throwing off a green light. Lily took a deep breath, and started walking slowly towards it. Bella followed her slowly.

"It's… a sort of folded paper…" observed Bella, in a scared tone. Lily didn't answer, but put out a shaking hand towards it. She hesitated, biting her lip nervously. Suddenly, she grabbed the paper.

Nothing happened.

"Open it!" said Bella hopefully. Lily unfolded it, shading her eyes from the bright light the paper was throwing. She saw some white in the green light, and found that they formed words. They read;

'If a Slytherin,

You are not.

Go away

Or here you'll rot."

Bella groaned, but Lily found that the words were vanishing, and all she could see was bright green. A sudden instinct urged her to turn the paper over, and there she found more words,

'To go out

Say these words;

A phoenix is 

The worst of birds.'

Lily stared at the paper for a moment, and the words vanished. Then she looked at Bella.

"Together?" asked Bella.

"At the count of three," answered Lily, holding up her hand. "One, two, three!"

"A phoenix is

The worst of birds," they chanted together. Suddenly, they felt themselves spinning, and Lily dropped the paper in surprise. They closed their eyes, and when they opened them, they found themselves in front of Mrs. Figg and the boys.

"You're 15 minutes late," said Mrs. Figg, consulting her watch. "And how did you suddenly appear? Did anything happen?" Lily and Bella looked at each other, and back at Mrs. Figg.

"No," said Bella.

"Nothing at all," ascertained Lily.

****

A/N: I hope you liked that chapter! This is probably the last chapter with Lily's feelings about her parents. From now on there will be more adventure instead. That's all. Please review! Thanks!

****

Thanks to:

****

Rachel: I've update! Thanks for your review.

****

Jenny: Thanks.

****

Voldemort: IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE A THREAT? Thanks for your review!

****

Snowlily: You're so sweet! Here's more! Thanks for both of your reviews!

****

Reine Dansante: Thanks! Your review made me laugh! I've update, hope you like this chapter.

****

Bella: I agree, this is miles better. Thanks for your review!

****

Britz: Thanks for your review! More about secret passages in next chapter! Please update your story soon!

****

Lily Evans14: Hi, how are you doing? I've already thanked you for your review, but I'll say it once more. Thanks! And see ya tomorrow!

****

Lily Evans: THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKS THANKS! You were the first one to put me on your faves! You don't know how much it means to me! Thanks!

****

Ayla Pascal: I'm sorry I haven't read your fics yet, but I will! Thanks for your review!

****

Sarah: I've continued! Thanks.

****

EvillyInsaneGirl: I'm going to e-mail you as soon as I upload this. Thanks for your review!

****

Mademoiselle Gabrielle: Forgive me! But anyway, here is the third chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

___________________________________________________________


	4. Smiles and Secrets

**A/N: I know I haven't updated in like a century (7 months actually *shifty eyes*), but well, you know what?  I don't have any excuses this time.  I don't know why I didn't update, I just didn't feel like it.  Whatever…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except those things which you are not familiar with.  Isn't that spiffy?**

**Dedications:  Tom, Daedra, Lily, Reine, Xavi, Bella, Christel : simply because all of you are great friends, the best of best!******

**Chapter 4:                     Smiles and Secrets**

****

'Only two more weeks till I get rid of you all!' joked Mrs. Figg.  Lily smiled, looking at Bella who seemed to have taken this seriously. 

'Hey, that's not really fair, you know.  You should at least try to be a bit grateful that…'

'Ara, dear,' interrupted Mrs. Figg smiling.  'I was only joking.  Now what were you telling me about being grateful?'

'Oh,' said Bella.  'Um, nothing.'  Lily snickered, and Bella shot her a glare.

'Alright then,' said Mrs. Figg, setting the dishes to clean up themselves with a flick of her wand.  'Where are the boys?'

'William's still asleep,' said Lily, biting into a piece of toast.   'And Dave and Robert are out playing Quidditch.'

'Already?  Alright then,' sighed Mrs. Figg.  'What are you girls going to do today?'

'I'm going to show Lils one of the secret passages,' said Bella, talking with her mouth full.  Her mother shot a warning look at her.  She smiled, swallowed and said more clearly, 'We might not be back in time for lunch; can we take a packed lunch or something with us?'  

'You know your Dad doesn't like you missing lunch,' she said severely.  

'But it won't be fun if we don't arrive at the other side!' said Bella.  'And you know we might stop here and there on the way, so we do need a few hours.'

'Yes, yes,' said Mrs. Figg, opening the window to let an owl in.  'But still, your father won't… wait a minute.'  She opened the letter which the owl had brought, and read it quickly.  'You're in luck,' she said smiling.  'Your Dad says he won't manage it for lunch, although he was going to take today as a half-day at work.'

'So we can go and take a packed lunch?' said Lily hopefully.

'Yes, I'll pack it up for you,' said Mrs. Figg.  'But be back for tea-time.'

'Of course,' said Bella, finishing her breakfast.  'Thanks!'

In a few minutes, Bella and Lily were ready to go.  They began making their way to the attic, but suddenly they heard a voice.

'Where are you going?'  Bella groaned and Lily spun round.  William was there, dressed up in his pyjamas, with one sock different from the other.  Lily bit her lip, trying hard not to smile.

'It's none of your business,' said Bella.  'Now leave us alone.'

'Does Mum know?' he said.

'Yes,' said Bella.  'Now just go wherever you were going and leave us alone!'

'Not before you tell me where you're going.'  Bella gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

'Okay,' she said, glaring at William.  'But once we tell you, you're going to leave straight away, right?'  William stared stonily at her.  

'I want to know where you're going.'  It wasn't even a question, or a polite inquiry.  It was a statement, an order.  Lily was already fed up with all of this, and she couldn't find anything wrong with telling William.

'We're going to explore a secret passage,' she said.

'NO!' shouted William.  The girls stared at him in surprise.  'I mean, yes,' he muttered.  'But you need someone to… take care of you, yes.  I'll come with you.'

'Oh no, you don't,' said Bella.  'No way.  You'll spoil it for us!'

'You don't understand Ara, it's dangerous!' urged William.  'I'm never going to let you two go down there alone.'

'So you say it won't be dangerous if you come with us, Mr. Mighty?' asked Bella, sneering at him.

'I got out once, I'll do it again.'

'What's so dangerous down there?' put in Lily.

'We don't know,' said William.  'But these last few weeks, whenever we use a secret passage, we get a spell put on us.  Till now they were all harmless, even funny, but they might get dangerous.' 

'But why didn't Mrs. Figg warn us?' asked Lily.

'She never believed our stories.  She thought it was some sort of prank we're playing on each other,' said Bella.

'So it would be better if I come with you,' said William.  Bella thought for a moment, smiled inwardly, sighed heavily and said,

'Then we won't go down there today.  We'll go for a picnic instead, after all, maybe it _is too dangerous to go there.'  Lily looked at her in horror, but Bella shot her a warning look._

'Okay,' said William, still looking suspicious.  'Have fun!'

'Thanks!' said Lily, as she and Bella ran downstairs.  Bella pulled her in a cupboard under the stairs, and closed the sliding door they had used to get in.

'Now,' she began smiling.

'Why are we here?' asked Lily.

'Another passage from here leads to the attic,' answered Bella.  'But we've got to be careful; William might be checking the attic.'

'What about the spells?'

'They've all been harmless till now, why should they suddenly become dangerous because we're going down there?' commented Bella, as she took out a muggle torch from her pocket and switched it on.  

'Well,' said Lily, feeling a surge of excitement.  'Okay then!  How do we open the secret passage?'  Bella began counting the tiles on the inner wall of the cupboard, tapped one with her fingertips and suddenly let out an exclamation of triumph as a few panels in the form of a door opened silently.  

'Come on,' she whispered.  Lily entered first, and switched on the torch she had brought.  She could see a long, dark passage winding into the darkness.  Bella entered after her and pressed something Lily couldn't see.  Suddenly, the panel door closed as silently as it had opened. 

'Well,' said Bella. She looked mysterious and weird in torchlight, with her blue eyes and straight black hair making more of a contrast than they had ever made before.  'Here goes!'  Lily smiled, and they began walking down in silence.  

'Now,' whispered Bella.  'It's best not to talk loudly, as William might be passing somewhere nearby.  I'll tell you when it's safe.'

'Okay,' said Lily softly.  'Where does the passage we are going to take lead to?'

'Another wizarding house,' answered Bella.  'We've never actually entered it, so we're not sure who it belongs to.  We can try it out today if you want, the boys always forbade me to.'  Lily grinned and shrugged.

'Whatever,' she said.  'I don't mind.  Is it much longer to the attic?'  She was getting tired of going up all the time.  They turned round a corner, and suddenly Bella stopped.

'No, it's not,' she whispered softly into Lily's ear.  'Can't you hear footsteps though?'  Lily listened hard, and finally nodded.  'Damn William,' whispered Bella, clenching her fists.  Lily could almost feel her glare.  'Anyway, we've nearly arrived.  Come on; let's listen for the door of the attic to close.'  They walked a few more steps, when suddenly Lily found herself facing a blank wall.  Bella put out her hand to stop her, and they stood there in silence, listening.  After a few minutes, they heard a sigh, and the attic door open and close.  Lily grinned as they high-fived silently, and watched Bella tap on a stone.  The stone she had tapped and the eight others surrounding it opened again in the form of a door.  Lily passed through, straightened up and found herself in the attic.  Bella grinned as she came out and dusted herself.  She closed the stone-door by tapping on the same stone again, and Lily realised that these secret passages had to be built by magic if the opened and closed so easily.  

'Do all the secret passages open by just tapping?' she asked Bella.  Bella flashed her a grin and shook her head.

'Nope,' she answered.  In fact, the one we're going to take now is quite different.  You're going to like it.  Now help me.'  Bella strode over to the other side of the attic, and began heaving at a heavy chest.  Lily followed and began helping her.  

'Come on, just a little more,' panted Bella.  Lily saw that they were uncovering a green slab.  Suddenly she blinked – green?  Since when were slabs green?  

When they had uncovered the entire slab, the girls straightened up, and Lily stared at Bella expectantly.  

'What do we do now?' she asked.  

'Watch this,' grinned Bella.  She knelt down, stared at the slab, and said, 'I clearly announce that I do not wish you to open -' Lily raised her eyebrows at this, wondering why on earth should a stone open if you didn't want it to.  She was about to say something, when Bella continued, 

'I demand you to!'  Suddenly, the stone turned yellow-green, yellow, orange, red, maroon and finally black.  Then, it disappeared.  Bella looked up and said hastily, 

'Go in!  Hurry!  It closes in exactly 90 seconds!  Just go down the ladder!'  Lily looked down into the darkness, and glimpsed the first few rungs of an iron ladder.  She turned round and began going down.  Bella followed her.  When Lily had reached the 15th rung (she was counting), she suddenly saw everything darken and heard the slab take its place once more.

'What about the chest?' she whispered to Bella, who was a few rungs above and taking care not to step on Lily's fingers.

'It will move by itself,' said Bella in a clear voice.  'There's no use to whisper anymore now, we're safe.'  

'Okay,' said Lily.  'Does this ladder go down a long way? 

'Well,' said Bella.  'Remember that we have to travel underground, so it's like going down to the basement.  However, there are a few ledges here and there, so if you tire we can stop to rest a little.'

'Cool…'

They continued climbing down, only stopping to rest once.  When they reached level ground, they switched on their torches again, and Lily looked around.  The passage wasn't really narrow; two people could walk next to each other comfortably.  The walls seemed to be made of grey stones, and the ground was pretty level and straight.  If she raised her hand up to its full extent, she was able to touch the roof quite easily.  They began walking in silence. 

'So why were these passages built?' asked Lily after a few minutes.

'Well,' began Bella.  'A long time ago, about three hundred years ago, there was this evil witch who thought, as all evil witches and wizards do, that she could take over the world.'  Lily giggled.  'So she began gathering dark supporters and creatures, whose job was to, of course, fight against those who supported light.  However, this witch's supporters had one flaw; they could not bear sunlight.  So they killed and fought at night.  Well, the habitants of these houses had to have a way of communication at night, in case there was an emergency.  It was believed that these secret passages were built then.'

'Oh.  And what happened to the witch?' asked Lily curiously.

'This witch was called The Evil Cassandra.  Once, when she was attacking a school in Wales, she saw a teacher who looked quite familiar to her.  A dark supporter was on the verge of killing him, when suddenly she ordered that the teacher was to be captured.  After torturing him and forcing him to reveal his past, she found out that he was her childhood friend, whom she had believed to be dead after the house where he used to live exploded.  He had survived because he was out in the garden when the explosion took place, so he had only fallen into unconsciousness.  A muggle had found him there, and he had been taken to a muggle hospital.  Well, the witch Cassandra thought she could kill him after she had learned that information, but something held her back.  Most people would have thought that in such a dark heart, there would be no white spot left for love.  But she found that she loved him, and she could not bear it.  So at last she killed herself, and her supporters, with no leader, panicked and scattered.  It was said that her spirit still dwells in all those who find that love conquers all.'  

Lily and Bella walked in silence after she had finished this extraordinary tale, thinking about how things could have maybe turned out if she hadn't killed herself.

'She would still have been imprisoned or killed by the ministry if she had turned herself in or something,' said Bella softly.  'So perhaps it was the best choice she could have made.'  Lily nodded.  

After a while, she noticed that Bella seemed to be looking at the ceiling, as if searching for something.

'What are you looking for?' she asked, feeling curious.  

'Oh,' said Bella.  'Um, there a sort of stone here which opens to this cool place surrounded by trees, and I thought we could have an early lunch there.'

'Ok!' said Lily enthusiastically.  'How will you know which stone it is though?'

'It's kind of dented in one of the corners,' said Bella, flashing her torchlight up.  Lily began looking up too, when suddenly Bella exclaimed and said,

'Found it!'  She slipped her fingers at the dent, and slid the stone easily to the right.  'Come on up!'  Bella jumped up, grabbed at the open space, swung for a few seconds and pulled herself up.  Lily did the same, with some help from Bella.  When she stood up and looked around, she found herself in a clearing surrounded with trees, as Bella had described.  She looked at the opening from which they had come up and found that Bella had slid the stone across and put her bag on it, so that it wouldn't show so much in case someone came over them suddenly.  They tucked in the sandwiches Mrs. Figg had prepared for them hungrily; all that walking and climbing had made them ravenous.

When they had finished all the food and drank, Bella suggested that they rest a bit before continuing.  Lily lay down and looked at the clear blue sky contentedly.  She had never had a close friend like Bella before, and she found out that it was quite fun not to be so much alone.  Bella could be really funny and talkative, on the contrary to her, who tended to be serious and quiet.  She had usually thought that it was best to keep herself to herself, but Bella made it impossible not to share a few of her secrets with her.  They had had fun this summer, and Lily dreaded going to Hogwarts in case they were sorted in different houses.

Lily turned round to see what Bella was doing, and to her shock she found that her friend had actually fallen asleep.  She grinned mischievously, and thought of splashing Bella *accidentally* with some water.  But after a few thoughts, she decided that she couldn't waste what was left of their drinks.  Suddenly she remembered that Bella was awfully afraid of bees…

'BELLA!  WAKE UP!  THERE'S A SWARM OF BEES HEADING THIS WAY!  WAKE UP!!!'  

'AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!' screamed Bella, nearly deafening Lily.  She jumped up and grabbed Lily tightly, sobbing into her shoulder.  'No!  No!  No!!!  Make them go away!  NO!!!'  Lily stared at her friend surprised; she hadn't expected such a reaction.

'Bella,' she said quietly, shocked that someone could be so much scared of such a little insect.  'There aren't any bees, it's ok!'  Bella lifted her tear-strained face and stared at Lily.

'There aren't?'

'No…'  Suddenly Lily received one of the worst shocks in her life.  Bella lifted up her hand and slapped her, hard, on her face.

'Bella!!!  It was only a joke!'  Bella glared at her with such ferocity that Lily backed away, scared.

'You!' screamed Bella.  She took a few deep, calming breaths before continuing.  'Don't you know that I have an allergy for bees?'

'What?' asked Lily, surprised.

'If a normal person is stung by a bee, nothing happens except that maybe a small spot appears, but my skin has this certain affliction which makes a bee's sting more harmful too me.  I've heard that some people who had this allergy actually _died when they walked into a bees' hive or something.  Can you imagine how shocked I was when you said that a ****__whole swarm was coming?'_

'Oh,' said Lily, still feeling astonished.  She had never heard of this bee allergy before, let alone know that her best friend had it.  'I really didn't know, I'm sorry!'  Suddenly Bella looked ashamed of herself. 

'I'm sorry I slapped you,' she muttered. 

'It's… it's ok,' said Lily.  They stood staring at each other, when suddenly Bella put out her hand and said,

'Friends?'  Lily shook it and smiled.

'Friends.'  

'Let's continue then!'  They picked up all their belongings, and Bella slid the stone to open it again.  Lily dropped in first, and Bella followed and slid the stone over to close it again.  Lily blinked; she could hardly see anything after coming in from the bright sunshine.

'So,' said Lily.  'Is it far to this wizarding house from here?'

'Just about 20 minutes now!' said Bella.  'Feel like running a bit?  It's cold in here.'

'Sure!' said Lily, smiling.  'Bet I will beat you!'

'Keep on dreaming girl!  Who reaches the wall opposite first wins.  Three, two, one, go!'  It turned out that they drew. 

'I still say I won,' said Bella, pretending to be sulking.  Lily laughed, and imitated her,

'Keep on dreaming girl!'  Bella laughed and they continued walking.  After 15 minutes, Bella stopped and grabbed Lily by the shoulder to stop, too.  The passage seemed to narrow, and at the narrowest place the wall seemed to glow gold.

'What's the matter?' whispered Lily.  It didn't seem right to talk normally here.  Bella grimaced.  

'We found out that that's the place where we get spells put on us.'

'Oh.'

'Well,' said Bella.  'We can't go to the wizarding house unless we pass through…'

'Yeah,' said Lily.

'I'll go first,' said Bella.

'No!' exclaimed Lily.  'Let's go together, in case something happens which separates us from each other!'  

'Okay,' answered her friend, sounding slightly relieved.

'Come on!'  Bella grabbed Lily's hand and they took it as a run.  Lily closed her eyes, and as they were passing through the glowing part, she thought she could hear someone laughing.  Suddenly they both stopped and opened their eyes.  When they looked at each other, they both broke out laughing.

'Your… your hair!!!'  exclaimed Lily, bending over with laughter.  'You should leave it like that!'  Bella snickered.

'Why don't you look at your skin?  You actually look scary!'  Bella grabbed a tuft of her hair, and Lily looked down at her hand.

'NOOOOOOOOOOO!' they both screamed.  Bella seemed to have bright pink hair, while Lily's skin was now an eerie emerald.  They stared at each other again, and broke out laughing. 

'I suppose these spells _can be hilarious!' grinned Lily.  'Come on, let's go on.'_

'Wait,' said Bella.  'Can't we do anything about them?'

'I guess not,' answered Lily.  'Come on!'  They walked for another 5 minutes, and arrived in front of another ladder.  Lily groaned, but Bella began climbing up.  Lily had no choice but to follow her.

When they arrived at the top, Bella stopped, suddenly feeling nervous.  

'Lily?  Would you agree if I tell you to turn back?'

'Bella!' said Lily in a warning tone.  'Surely you're not _scared?'_

'Of course not,' said Bella in a whimpering tone.  'But… how should we know what we're going to find up there?'

'Probably other human beings,' said Lily calmly.  'And it doesn't matter if we get caught anyway, we could say that we wanted to know who lived here because _our house is connected to this house by a secret passage and we don't want our house to be invaded by burglars, do we?'_

'Lily, mum knows the people who live here.  We just never asked her…'

'Oh.  Well, let's go anyway.  Do you know how to open this passage?'

'Um, no?' said Bella in an unconvincing tone.

'Ok,' said Lily.  'How do you open the slab at home from inside?'

'Same as you open it from outside…'  Lily looked up at the slab above their heads.

'I clearly announce that I do not wish you to open, I demand you to.'  Lily and Bella blinked.  Nothing happened.  

'Bella…' said Lily in a warning tone.

'I thought it was that!  I really did!'

'Ok, what are we gonna do now?' sighed Lily.

'Go back?'

'Bella, you're hiding something.'

'I solemnly swear that I know nothing!'  Suddenly, they both gasped.   The slab was opening!  

'I solemnly swear that I know nothing?' said Lily, not believing what had just happened.

'Whatever, come on!' exclaimed Bella, as she climbed up the last few rungs of the ladder.  

'This is weird,' said Lily, as they stared at the slab closing by itself.  'What do we do now?'

'Why are you asking me?' said Bella, sounding scared.  

'Because I don't know?' said Lily, in a sarcastic tone.

'As usual,' commented Bella.

'For once, you mean.' 

'You're always depending on me for things.'

'Am not!' exclaimed Lily.

'Are too!' 

'I don't think we should be quarrelling…'

'Then what should we do?' asked Bella.

'Let's look around…'

'Couldn't you have just said that at the beginning?'

'No conversation is fun without a quarrel…'

'Sure.'  They seemed to be in some kind of attic, which Lily thought would fit in seeing that they had climbed so much.  Bella opened the door silently, and peered out.  She gasped, and when Lily came up behind her, she echoed her gasp.  They were looking into a magnificent corridor, with spiral columns made of marble and painted ceilings.  Expensive statues seemed to be lining the passage way, and at the end of the corridor there seemed to be a marble staircase leading down.

'If the attic has such a corridor,' whispered Lily.  'Then what about the rest of the house?'

'I think I know who lives here now,' said Bella in awe.  'A very rich guy.'

They walked down the corridor and came to the staircase.  Lily looked at Bella, who shrugged.

'So what the heck?  Let's go.'  They started going down the staircase slowly, and Lily felt like she was a princess, descending a royal staircase in a palace.  She placed her hand on the banister, straightened up and smiled.  A girl could dream…  

'Lily,' whispered Bella, when they were on the floor below.  'I think someone's coming up from downstairs!'  Bella always had sharper hearing, so Lily only heard footsteps after a few seconds.  They stared at each other, when suddenly Lily glimpsed a door.  

'In that room!  Come on!' she opened the door, shoved Bella in, entered herself and closed it.  Then she breathed a sigh of relief.

'Um, Lily?'  Lily stiffened… Bella didn't sound too happy.  She turned round slowly and opened her mouth in a silent scream. 

Opposite the room, in front of them, was a desk, with someone writing on it.  Only that someone had turned round and was now facing them.

'Um, hi!' said Lily, in a false bright voice.  'I'm so sorry, wrong room; we'll just be leaving, ok?'  The guy kept staring at them, and Bella seemed to have been paralysed.  Suddenly, he said,

'What's with your skin and hair?'  Lily suddenly remembered how strange they must look; Bella with bright pink her and herself with emerald skin.  She blinked, and tried to look as if things were perfectly normal.

'What's up with them?' she said, smiling falsely.  Suddenly, the guy broke out laughing.  He had neat, brown hair, with dark green eyes.  He seemed to be lacking hours of sleep, his eyes had slight rings under them.  He looked quite tall, even if he was sitting down, but Lily thought that he couldn't be more than 13.

'I can see you've discovered our secret passage!' Bella let out an exclamation. 

'How do you know?' she said.

'Well,' said the guy, still grinning.  'First of all, I'm Remus Lupin.'  

'Oh,' interrupted Lily.  'I'm Lily Evans, and this is Arabella Figg, but call her Bella.'

'Pleased to meet you, even though it _was a surprise,' smiled Remus.  'Anyway, a few months ago I was showing my friend, Sirius Black, that secret passage you have probably just been through.  And, well, he had just been to visit Zonko's in Hogsmeade (Lily remembered that Bella had once told her that Hogsmeade was an entirely wizarding village) and bought this cool powder to use in passage-ways.  If you rub it onto the ceiling and the walls of both sides of the passage-way, it puts a hex on each person who passes through.  All of them are harmless, of course.  The only disadvantage it has is that it leaves a gold glow on where the powder is rubbed.'_

'Oh,' said Lily, feeling totally gob smacked.  (I just LOVE that word!)

'I see,' said Bella, closing her mouth which she suddenly realised was open.

'Anyway,' continued Remus.  'You girls are lucky my parents aren't home, if you had met one of them, they would definitely have been angry.'  Suddenly Lily gasped.

'Then who else is here?' she asked.

'Why, no one!' said Remus.

'But, we heard footsteps…' said Bella, her voice shaking slightly.  Suddenly they heard something, which sounded awfully like a vase, crash onto the floor and shatter into a thousand pieces.

'Uh oh,' said Remus.  'This definitely doesn't sound good…'

**A/N:  Hehe, evil cliffie!  I love being evil…  Hope you likes that chapter, it was extra long…  Ah well, here come the thank-yous!**

**Thanks to:**

****

**Snowlily****:  :)**

****

**Confuzzler****:  I still want to thank you for putting me on your faves, I'll prolly do it again and again!  Hope you like this chapter!**

****

**Queenoftheworld******

****

**Smiley**

****

**Gwacella******

****

**EvillyInsaneGirl****:  Lily is going to meet James very very soon, next chapter or the one after!  Keep on reading and stay tuned!**

****

**Britz****:  I won't tell you what was happening last chapter… you'll learn that later in the fic!  And here's more about secret passages, hope you'll like it!  Hehe, and hurry up with your fics!  **

****

**D**

****

**Steffie******

****

**Belldandy******

****

**Stefers******

****

**Scarlett*****eyes**

****

**Lily potter**

****

**A/N:**** *sigh*  I hope that someone remembers my fic and comes to review, even though I haven't uploaded for so long… I'M SORRY!  Now will you review please?  *innocent smile***


End file.
